Kjell Bartholdsen was a Norwegian jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 saxophonist

Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

.

He was born in Hammerfest

Hammerfest

is a city and municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The municipality encompasses parts of three islands: Kvaløya, Sørøya, and Seiland. Hammerfest was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...

, and lived in Bodø

Bodø

is a city and a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten region.The city of Bodø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Bodin was merged with Bodø on 1 January 1968. Skjerstad was merged with Bodø on 1 January 2005...

 from 1968. A piano tuner

Piano tuning

Piano tuning is the act of making minute adjustments to the tensions of the strings of a piano to properly align the intervals between their tones so that the instrument is in tune. The meaning of the term in tune in the context of piano tuning is not simply a particular fixed set of pitches...

 by profession, he was also a central person in Northern Norwegian jazz. His instruments were tenor sax, and, in his early career, clarinet

Clarinet

The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...

. He played at Moldejazz

Moldejazz

Molde International Jazz Festival takes place annually in July, and is known as one of the oldest jazz festivals in Europe. It was initiated by the local Storyville Jazz Club...

 in 1974, Nattjazz in 1975, Kongsberg Jazzfestival

Kongsberg Jazzfestival

Kongsberg Jazzfestival is an international jazz festival held annually in Kongsberg, Norway since 1964.-Artists:Several worldwide great artists have visited Kongsberg during this festival; international stars including Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, John Scofield, Nigel Kennedy and Pat Metheny have...

 in 1976, VossaJazz in 1978 as well as several times in the Festival of North Norway

Festival of North Norway

The Festival of North Norway is a festival based in Harstad, Norway.It was first held in 1965, and consists of music, theatre and art performances. The director of the festival is Birger Carlsen....

 and with Concerts Norway

Concerts Norway

Concerts Norway was established in 1967 on the initiative of the Arts Council Norway , with the main purpose described as follows: "Concerts Norway should do living music of high artistic quality accessible to all people in the country." The organization had its opening concert in Hammerfest...

. He had to retire in 1988 after a stroke

Stroke

A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...

, and had also suffered from bad eyesight during his career. He died in November 2009.